MUNDKA FIRE
by the loss of lives in the tragedy, and called for immediate steps to prevent such incidents in the future. He also extended his condolences to the bereaved families. Distraught relatives of the missing persons thronged the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital on Friday night hoping to get information about them.
One Ajit Tiwari said his sister Monika (21) had started working for the company just a month back. “She received her first salary on Thursday. We got to know about the fire at 5 pm, but had no idea that the blaze broke out at her office building. When she did not return home by 7 pm, we started looking for her,” he said.
Monika lives with her two brothers and a sister in Delhi’s Agar Nagar. She is from Gonda district in Uttar Pradesh. Another woman was seen frantically looking for her elder daughter, who also works at the CCTV camera packaging unit.
“My daughter Pooja has been working at the CCTV camera packaging unit for the last three months. We live in Mubarakpur and got to know about the incident at 9 pm. She has a cut mark below her left eye. “We are looking for her at various hospitals. She is the sole breadwinner of our family of four. Her two younger sisters study in a school,” she said.
Ankit, who works at one of the offices in the building, said a motivational session was underway on the second floor when the fire broke out.
“I am very fortunate that I am alive. I could have also lost my life. A motivational session was being held on the second floor of the building when we noticed the blaze. We broke the glass windows and somehow managed to escape,” he added.
Deepa Verma, director of the Forensic Science Laboratory, Rohini, said two teams, including senior experts, are working at the spot. “They will collect samples for the purpose of identification and collection,” she said, adding these will be handed over to the investigating officer.
Charred human remains have also been found, so possibly a forensic DNA examination would be carried out to ascertain the identity of the deceased, she said. SK Gupta, head of crime scene, said body remains at fire sites are very difficult to detect, collect and handle.
“Burned exhibits like body tissues at the scene are often modified to a similar appearance. Bones, in particular, become discoloured, brittle, and highly fragmented,” Gupta said.
Assistant public relations officer, FSL, Rajnish Singh said the examination of the entire spot will take time as it is a large area.
According to DCP Sharma, an FIR has been registered against the owners of the CCTV camera packaging unit under sections 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 120 (concealing design to commit offence punishable with imprisonment) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
All the floors of the building were being used by the same company, he said. The building’s owner, Manish Lakra, has also been booked, the police said.
According to a list released by the district magistrate of West Delhi, those injured in the fire have been identified as Satish (38), Pradeep (36), Ashu (22), Harjeet (23), Nitin (24), Avinash (29), Sandhya (22), Dhanvanti (21), Bimla (43), Ayesha (24) and Mamta (52).